


We Happy Few

by SpaceShaolin



Category: Teen Top (Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 09:24:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6369169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceShaolin/pseuds/SpaceShaolin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Military AU) Bang Minsoo is twenty-four years old and already a war-weary field army sergeant. While he loves his squad, he doesn't think it's fair to be in charge of five other kids when he's barely a man himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Happy Few

_"From this day to the ending of the world,_  
_But we in it shall be remembered -_  
_We few, we happy few, we band of brothers."_

* * *

Minsoo is dreaming of the mountain again. The mountain: his future home, where he could spend the rest of his days sleeping and nobody would give him any trouble for it. Minsoo's mountain is a peaceful place. Nothing there to keep him company but the wind, the birds, the view, and the occasional storms. Storms are okay, he thinks. Minsoo can handle storms. After four years of running towards and away from ear-shattering gunfire, Minsoo figures that storms will be easy enough to handle. A piece of cake, compared to whatever hell he’s currently stuck in.

“Sarge!”

It was Changhyun’s voice that finally woke him up and snapped him back to his grim reality.

_“Minsoo!”_

He scowled. “Cut that out, I heard you the first time.”

“About time you got up.” Daniel’s voice came from Minsoo’s left side. He fiddled with his rifle nervously and shifted his gaze sideways. “Sir.”

“And I told you to cut that out too. Thought I said to stop calling me sir.”

Minsoo examined his surroundings. He found himself inside a dirty farmhouse and heard gunfire outside, but it's far away from here, which meant that the danger was over – for now. He tried to stand up, but was immediately brought back to the ground by strong hands from behind and a fiery pain in his right leg and stomach.

“Don’t do that!” Changhyun yelled in alarm.

Minsoo winced both from the pain in his ear and his leg. He glanced downwards, where a red dot was beginning to seep through the heavy bandages. His leg stung and his stomach was burning, and Minsoo is wondering how that even happened. This wasn’t the first time he’s been injured, but he has never woken up as disoriented as he is now. For the first time in his life as a soldier, Minsoo had no idea know what was going on. He frowned.  _Stupid. Stupid, stupid. Get your head on straight, man, you’re not helping anybody out this way._ He hissed in frustration.

He felt a weight on his shoulder, looked behind him, and saw Byunghun. Byunghun, their sullen sniper, squeezed his leader’s shoulder and nodded in silent support, as if he’s heard every little thing running through Minsoo’s head.

Right, his busted leg. His burning stomach. He wasn't going anywhere for a while. Which meant they were likely staying the night here in this dingy farmhouse.

But it was paranoia and four years of experience that told Minsoo that they needed to get moving soon. They couldn't afford to stay here forever – even if the haystack his men have dumped him on was comfortable.

Minsoo needed a plan.

“Where’s Chanhee?” he asked.

Daniel and Byunghun exchanged worried glances. Changhyun sighed, long and heavy, and ran a hand through his hair before answering.

“He’s on a recon mission with Jonghyun,” he replied. “Said he’d be back soon with supplies and a real idea of where we are right now.”

“And he just decided he’d do this on his own?” Minsoo demanded. “He didn’t bother to tell me?”

“You’ve been out for the past two days, Sarge,” Changhyun explained and looked Minsoo straight in the eyes, unafraid. “He’s with Jonghyun. He’ll be okay.”

Minsoo attempted to sit up and waved off Byunghyun, who tried to make him lie down again. “What do you mean I’ve been out? What happened?”

“Enemy mine, sir,” Daniel piped up from the side. Minsoo decided to let the unnecessary show of respect go for now. “It went off and you took the brunt of the blast. Been out cold ever since.” He quickly rubbed his eyes and, unable to sustain eye contact any longer, threw his gaze down to his boots instead.

“Okay, we can talk about that later.” Minsoo turned back to Changhyun. “When did they leave?”

But Changhyun was looking at Byunghun, who was looking down at his boots also. Outside, the sounds of gunfire persisted a million miles away. The shots fired up the night sky with thousands of deadly fireflies. Minsoo was still looking towards the squad medic, waiting for his answer.

“I asked you a question, Private.”

At that, Changhyun’s front crumbled. Their leader only pulled rank when he was being absolutely serious, and even then, those times were rare.

“Two days ago, Sarge.” He winced and looked away, as if expecting to get hit. But Minsoo remained unmoving and silent, so Changhyun let a shaky breath through his nose before finally looking up at his sergeant. “They left immediately after we moved you in here.”

* * *

He enlisted in the army when he was just twenty years old, and even if there were other boys younger than him at training camp, twenty was still too young to be seeing so much action. But this was of no concern to Bang Minsoo. As long as he got enough money to send back home to his mother, then serving his country in a warzone was alright with him.

This was where he first met Lee Chanhee, a guy with a head too small for his own good and nostrils that were big enough to make up for his measly face size. Chanhee was one year younger, did all the talking for the two of them, and had enlisted for the same reasons as Minsoo. They had been inseparable since then and had saved each other too many times, that they’d long lost count of their personal tally. Even when faced with a promotion, Chanhee turned it down, if only to continue serving with Minsoo – a sore point the elder never failed to bring up.

“You idiot, you could have been a sergeant too if you weren’t so pig-headed,” Minsoo would growl, but because this conversation was already too familiar between them, there was no heat in his words.

“Asshole,” Chanhee would reply. “You’re lost without my help. If I weren’t here now, you’d be having your leg chopped off in a hospital somewhere.”

“Primitive.”

“Idiot.”

“Stupid.”

“Asshole.”

“Hey, you can’t say asshole twice.”

“I meant to do that. Asshole.”

* * *

Minsoo woke up again.

He shifted quietly on his hay bed and hissed at the movement. He looked down, caught sight of the bandages, and remembered why everything was hurting so much right now. He groaned and rubbed his eyes.

“Idiot.” He looked up at the farmhouse’s ceiling and sighed. His second-in-command, gone for three days now, and Minsoo was still in a world of pain. Chanhee was right after all.

Footsteps began to quietly approach him, prompting Minsoo to glance up at his visitor. Byunghun sat down beside him and quietly offered his canteen. Behind him, Daniel and Changhyun were fast asleep, the latter’s head laying on the other’s leg.

“They’ll be okay,” Byunghun said. “If it’s the two of them out there, then the enemy doesn’t stand a chance.”

Both men smiled at each other, though their eyes remained cloudy with doubt and worry.

Minsoo handed the canteen back to his sniper and gave a nod in thanks.

“Get some sleep, Sarge.” Byunghun took a swig from the canteen and patted his weapon. “You’ll be fine. Nothing’s gonna happen to us when I’m on watch.”

Minsoo reached out and laid a hand on Byunghun’s thigh. “Counting on it.”

He settled into his soft bed, ignored the pain, and allowed the darkness to take him again.

* * *

Chanhee had taken an immediate liking to Lee Byunghun, if only because they shared the same name. Scrawny, thin, and short, Byunghun didn’t look the part of a soldier. But he was a dead shot with his gun and his eyesight so unreal, that he was able to prove himself right away without ever having to open his mouth. Minsoo had liked that. Like him, Byunghun had also understood the need to keep one’s thoughts to oneself. Another quiet fellow, just like him.

The trio formed a strange unit of their own: Minsoo and Chanhee, the only survivors of a deadly firefight that had taken out four of their seniors, and Byunghun, a drifter long separated from his original squad. They were still alive somehow, because they’d avoided all the major danger zones by hiding out in abandoned towns.

But even the three of them proved to be quite the handful for any enemy they came across. Minsoo, already big and intimidating enough to scare anyone, was a quick shot and liked to kill his enemies in close quarters. Chanhee was the quickest and sneakiest of the three and could kill enemies from behind with such speed, that barely anyone saw him coming. And finally, Byunghun, their silent support from a well-hidden vantage point, would shoot at anyone who’d gotten past the two of them.

They made a great team together. Not only did they complement each other in a fight, their personal relations had only improved with each passing skirmish. Although Minsoo and Byunghun mostly kept to themselves, Chanhee did enough talking for the three of them anyway, that the two only had to react to him and would still be able to keep a decent conversation going.

Of course they had their issues, at first. Used to being on his own for so long, Byunghun had taken a long time to adjust to having someone boss him around. But Chanhee, ever the peacekeeper, had ironed out any difficulties and since then, Byunghun had stuck to him like flypaper.

Although Byunghun looked the weakest of the trio, it was Chanhee who was the most injury-prone of them. And even then, he insisted that he was the sniper’s self-appointed guardian anyway – a claim which Byunghun never bothered to dispute. Not even when Chanhee was on his back, immobile from a bullet graze to his side.

“Stop looking at me like that, stupid.” He laughed at Byunghun’s pale expression.

He gripped one of Chanhee’s wrists tightly in response.

“I’m not dying yet. You two would die without me to bail both your asses out of the fire anyway.”

Byunghun nodded and squeezed the wrist tighter. “You’re an idiot.”

Chanhee laughed again and raised an eyebrow at Minsoo. “Now where have I heard that before?”

“So I’m Asshole, he’s Stupid, and you’re Idiot,” Minsoo scoffed. “We’re Korea’s Three Stooges. Which means that no matter how much shit we run into, we'll all live to see the next episode. Somehow, I'm okay with that.” He smirked and winked at the other two.

Chanhee seemed like he was never going to run out of laughter today, while Byunghun was smiling for the first time in hours.

“Nobody’s dying yet,” the sniper said softly and looked down at Chanhee. “Not when I’m on watch.”

Chanhee patted the hand that was still clamped on his wrist. “I’ve never doubted that, Byunghunnie.”

Minsoo snorted and resumed keeping watch. “Ah, I’m jealous. You two are getting cozy again. Cut that out.”

Behind him, a chortle and an indignant squawk sounded in response, and Minsoo joined in with a guffaw of his own, even as Chanhee’s helmet hit him squarely in the ass.

* * *

He woke up for the third time that day, almost panicking upon finding himself in darkness. But once his eyes had adjusted properly, he found that his men had left a small fire ablaze to keep them warm. Minsoo relaxed and didn’t let himself be too bothered by the darkness. Four years on the job, and still uneasy in the dark. It was a wonder these five kids still trusted him with their lives after all this time.

A pair of hands were busying themselves with the bandages wrapped around his stomach, and Minsoo looked up to find Changhyun staring down at him with an intense worry in his eyes.

“It’s not that bad, is it?”

If Changhyun was surprised at Minsoo’s sudden awakening, then he didn’t show it. His face remained impassive, but his eyes and the way his eyebrows sat heavily on them expressed more than he could ever say.

He settled back down and sat, facing Minsoo. “You’ll live.” He cocked his head to the side and cracked the joints on his fingers idly. “To be honest though, it's almost a miracle you're still awake after what happened. ‘Specially since you were out like a light for two days and this morning.”

“Just catching up on my sleep, that’s all.”

Changhyun snorted. “Yeah, sure.”

“You brats never let me have any sleep these days. This is all your fault.”

The other man raised an eyebrow at Minsoo and chuckled. Then he became serious again and returned his gaze to the bandages. “We were all worried, Sarge.”

“Yeah, I know.” Minsoo sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Chanhee and Niel, especially,” Changhyun continued. “It was Byunghun who found this place for us to duck into, then after we made sure we were secure, Chanhee went on his sudden recon mission with Jonghyun.”

At the mention of the others, Minsoo scanned his eyes around the farmhouse and instinctively sought out his remaining members. Daniel was still asleep in the same spot he’d been sitting in earlier, while Byunghun was also asleep beside him, arms crossed securely around his weapon and his chest.

“He wasn’t himself, you know?” Changhyun’s shaky voice forced Minsoo’s eyes back on him. “I mean, we’ve all seen you injured before, but not like… Not like  _this,_ you know? This was different. On a whole other level entirely. Even made me use up every last bit of my plasma too. Jonghyunnie had to help me patch up the worst of it – Byunghun had his hands full trying to calm down the other two.”

“Hey, I’m fine now, aren’t I? You did good again, Changhyun. Couldn’t ask for a better corpsman.”

Changhyun winced. “Just medic is fine, Sarge, I told you. Corpsman’s… It’s too gruesome.”

“Makes you think of dead bodies, yeah. I’m sorry.”

“Chanhee wouldn’t calm down, you know? He couldn't keep still even after we finished fixing you all up. Maybe it was because you weren’t waking up that did it for him - and when you did, you said the worst things. That’s why he went out with Jonghyun. Gave him something productive to do, instead of letting us all see how scared he was.”

“But Daniel’s still here.”

“Yeah, right.” Changhyun scoffed. “You try sending out two panicking riflemen on a stealth mission and see how that goes. Byunghun’d collapse under all the supplies they’ll bring back, so he’s here too – Chanhee’s words, not mine.”

Minsoo laughed at that.

“It took a while to convince Byunghun, though. He really wanted to go with Chanhee.”

“Yeah, that sounds like him.”

Changhyun shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

“They’ll be alright,” Minsoo said, although whether he was trying to convince the medic or himself, he wasn’t sure.

“Yeah.” Changhyun nodded. “Yeah. They’ll be okay. Jonghyun’ll take care of it.”

Minsoo grasped Changhyun’s hand and squeezed it weakly. “Thanks for patching me up. I mean it. I owe you a life debt now.”

Changhyun laughed and squeezed back. “Just focus on getting better, Sarge. Then Chanhee’ll start smiling again, Byunghun’ll stop worrying so much, Niel’ll stop looking so guilty, Jonghyun can finally relax, and I’ll be a happy man.”

“Mister Happiness, that’s you.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“What’s Daniel got to feel so guilty for anyway? He hasn’t looked at me right since I woke up.”

Here, Changhyun hesitated. He patted the hand that was still clasping his and shook his head. “That’s probably something you’ll have to ask him yourself. Get some rest now, okay? Things’ll be better in the morning.”

If only I had your optimism, Minsoo thought as sleep began to take him again.  _Probably would’ve saved me all those sleepless nights I spent worrying about you brats._

Changhyun was still holding his hand when Minsoo nodded off into darkness.

* * *

Yoo Changhyun and Choi Jonghyun had joined their squad as a sort of package deal, because as far as the trio knew, the two were never anywhere without the other. Like Byunghun, they were drifters also, separated from their squad after a fatal miscommunication forced them to hide deep in a forest.

Getting them to join their makeshift squad was a godsend for Minsoo, because the two offered skills the then-trio sorely needed. Changhyun was a field medic, a fact that made Chanhee immensely happy, as this meant that he didn’t have to do the patching-up duties anymore. Jonghyun was big – bigger even than Minsoo and had a better build too. He’d been in charge of handling the heavy artillery for his squad and lugged a machine gun around with him. With belts of bullets strapped to his helmet and on his chest, coupled with the multiple grenades he carried with him, it was no wonder the boy was so fit. And as much as he loved the other Stooges, Minsoo was always grateful for another big body to join their ranks.

But they were both so young. Younger than Chanhee and Byunghun by two years, and Minsoo wondered what he’d done to deserve such a responsibility. They were all still kids, after all, even if their battle-hardened eyes told a different story.

And Minsoo was a young man as well. Already commanding a small squad of his own at the age of twenty-four and still somehow keeping all of them alive, despite it all. If only his mother could see him now. He still stays awake most nights, mind filled with fears and worries no man his age should be thinking. But he was a sergeant now and in charge of these other soldiers, whether he liked it or not.

A few weeks later found them bumping into Ahn Daniel, a total rookie in war and one of those types who’d enlisted right after college. He was tall like Jonghyun, but gangly and scrawny like Byunghun. His helmet looked three sizes too big for his head and his entire stance was awkward. He was constantly holding his rifle in simultaneous disgust and panic, like he was two seconds away from dropping it and running away from everything.

Perhaps this was why his squad had left him behind.

The last night Daniel spent with his squad was like any other – them, huddling by their campfire and swapping stories, he, huddling into his blanket and trying to make himself disappear. By the time he woke up, the only thing left from the campfire was a thin trail of smoke and his supposed comrades had long gone. It made sense for them to do that. After all, they were hardened veterans, while Daniel was still new to the whole thing. He would be dead weight to them and only drag them down. Of course it made sense for them to abandon him, Daniel reasoned.

That was the first time Chanhee had stopped smiling.

Minsoo, however, was more pissed at the nonchalant way Daniel had told them his story. Like it didn’t matter. Like  _he_ didn’t matter. Minsoo growled and spat at the ground. It might have made sense for them to leave him behind, but that didn’t mean they had to.

Minsoo vowed to make sure Daniel never spoke that way again – especially when he was talking about himself.

“Well good thing you ran into us, then,” Minsoo said. “Chanhee and I have been picking up strays for four years now, so you’re not going to be a problem for us at all.”

“Yeah, look at Byunghunnie here,” Chanhee chimed in, his smile returning to his face. “He was our first, so it took us a while to house-train him. Isn’t that right, you stupid thing.”

Byunghun scowled and pummeled his arm. Changhyun giggled at the display, while Jonghyun winced in sympathy with Chanhee’s bruised right arm. Daniel’s eyes lit up and almost watered in gratitude.

“Hey, idiot, leave him alone.”

“And as for  _this asshole,_ ” Chanhee went on, now that he had found another target. “He may be this group’s commanding officer, but don’t let that fool you. He’s the biggest stray of you lot, so he was the hardest to train.”

“Shut up, idiot, we would’ve left you alone a long time ago and you know it.”

“Yeah, but who’d do all the cooking for you with me gone, you lazy ass?”

Minsoo guffawed and dodged the helmet that came sailing his way again. Chanhee stuck out his tongue at Minsoo and shoved Byunghun, ordering him to go pick up his helmet. Changhyun ran with the sniper in a bid to prove himself useful, leaving Jonghyun to scratch his head in bewilderment at this strange bunch of people he’d run into.

Daniel sat by himself, but he was smiling and laughing and not feeling totally alone for the first time in weeks.

* * *

When he woke up again, Minsoo wasn’t surprised to find Daniel staring down at him, his face a complex combination of protectiveness, anxiousness, and guilt.

“Look at me like that long enough and your face’ll get stuck that way.” Minsoo raised a hand to wave Daniel’s worried face away.

“Sorry,” the other soldier muttered and sat at a more comfortable distance from the injured sergeant.

“Now tell Daddy Minsoo what’s wrong so we can all go back to sleep again.” He looked up at Daniel, but was disappointed to see him remain impassive to his joke.

“You’re making your dumb jokes again, so you must be fine already.”

“Of course I’m fine. Can’t leave you kids alone with the war still going on.”

Daniel gave a wet chuckle at that.

“Chanhee and Jonghyun still not back yet?”

Daniel shook his head.

Minsoo sighed and lifted his gaze again to find the others. Byunghun was still asleep in his former position, while Changhyun had fallen asleep next to him, his head leaning heavily on the sniper’s shoulder.

“That boy likes to cling to people, doesn’t he?”

Daniel followed Minsoo’s gaze and smiled at the sight. “He’s still a kid, Sarge. He loves people.”

“We're all still kids," Minsoo said. "Hard to believe he’s older than Jonghyun, huh? The way they act sure doesn’t seem like it.”

Daniel looked back at the other man. “The way you act, sometimes it feels like you’re way older than the rest of us. And to think I'm just two years younger than you.”

Minsoo shrugged. “Hey, you see the same things I do and my old man face will make sense to anyone.”

That drew a soft laugh out of the younger soldier. “Good old Bang Minsoo. Always trying to make the rest of us feel better, even if he isn’t very good at it.”

“Hey, when did you learn to talk like that? I’m gonna have a talk with that Chanhee as soon as he gets back. Insubordinate bastards, all of you.”

“Don’t worry, Sarge, I’m still a fan.”

“Yeah, could have fooled me.”

Silence descended upon the two then. Minsoo had his arms folded behind his head now and was staring up at the ceiling, while Daniel was picking at his bootlaces.

“Sarge, could I ask you something?”

Minsoo turned his head to face Daniel and raised an eyebrow.

“Is this the first time you got hurt this badly?”

The older man released a sigh and shifted again on his makeshift bed. He groaned slightly with the effort, but waved Daniel away when he saw him rushing to his assistance. As soon as he felt comfortable, he smirked a little at the other man before replying.

“Nah. My first real painful injury was back at boot camp. Got it into my head I was an indestructible force of nature and charged at the obstacle course head-on. And I mean that literally – I tripped on my way down the rope ladder and landed face-first on the ground. Splat. Smashed my nose and my ego at the same time.”

Daniel put a hand to his mouth to try and stifle the chuckles threatening to come out. Behind them, Byunghun gave a small grunt, but remained asleep otherwise.

“Chanhee wouldn’t stop laughing for days after that and he'd bring it up whenever he could. I still haven’t forgiven that idiot for it.”

“Just think: strong, silent Sergeant Bang, tripping over himself at a trainee obstacle course!”

“Hey, I was still a trainee then, to be fair. Now cut it out, you’re making fun of an injured man.”

He regretted those words as soon as they came out of his mouth, because Daniel had done exactly that and stopped laughing. He’d gotten that guilt-ridden look in his eyes again, and Minsoo was damned if he had to go back to sleep with that being the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes.

“Look, will you tell me what’s wrong already so that we can –”

“I was supposed to die there.”

Minsoo shut his mouth.

“I was the one who tripped that mine, but it didn’t explode right away. I couldn’t move.” Daniel was looking away now, avoiding his commander’s gaze. How many times had he done that already, Minsoo found himself thinking. “You came over and pushed me off the mine. And then…”

His voice trailed off and before Minsoo can ask him to continue, the memory suddenly flashes in his mind, sharp and unbidden. Everything hits him all at once right there.

* * *

_He pushed Daniel away from the mine and came over in order to scold him properly for not getting his head out of his ass in time. And then, there was a huge blast and Minsoo felt like his body was on fire._

_It was almost as if the mine had been waiting for him to take Daniel’s place before going off._

_Before he knew it, Changhyun’s hands were ripping away at his uniform, while barking orders at Daniel to hold Minsoo down and keep him steady. But Daniel had frozen in horror after the blast and refused to budge an inch, never taking his eyes off Minsoo. So it was Jonghyun who rushed over to do that instead. His hands clamped down painfully on Minsoo's shoulders to make sure he didn't squirm away from Changhyun's touch, which was only making everything hurt more. Minsoo hadn’t even realized he was shaking so much._  
  
_“Fuck! You trying to kill me here?!”_  
  
_“You stay still, Sarge! That’s an order!”_  
  
_“T-told you to quit talking to me like – **fuck!** ”_  
  
_“Bang Minsoo!” That was Chanhee yelling at him now. “Shut up and listen to Changhyun! And stay fucking still, you’re not helping anybody!”_  
  
_Whatever reply Minsoo had thought to lob back at Chanhee was swallowed back down, as he bit back a scream. He settled for a sharp hiss instead and tried to move away again, but Jonghyun's firm grasp was keeping him locked down._  
  
_More torturous minutes followed, but Changhyun wasn’t finished with him yet._  
  
_“Going to be dark soon,” Chanhee said. “We’ll need to move somewhere for the night.”_  
  
_Just then, Byunghun came darting out from the tall grass. “There’s a farmhouse not far from here. It’s the only building out for miles, but we should be okay if we’re careful.”_  
  
_Chanhee nodded. “Changhyun, we’re moving. Niel, come on.”_  
  
_Minsoo felt himself being carried by both Jonghyun and Chanhee, and started to moan at all the sudden movements._  
  
_“Careful,” Changhyun warned, keeping a hand on Minsoo’s stomach to keep the blood from spilling out._  
  
_"Relax, Minsoo, you're okay." Chanhee wouldn't stop talking. "Just relax now, we'll be okay."_  
  
_“Sorry, sorry, sorry, I’m sorry, Sarge oh God,” Daniel was muttering from Minsoo’s left side. He’d tell them both to shut up, but his speech was muddled with pain and he hadn’t been able to get a single coherent word out since Changhyun began his operation._  
  
_The last thing he remembered seeing was Byunghun patting Daniel gently on the back, although this did little to stop the boy’s litany of apologies._  
  
_Then, darkness._

* * *

There were other things Minsoo wasn’t able to remember.

“You kept waking up while Changhyun was still fixing you up. Kept telling us to leave you behind so many times, Chanhee had to knock you out more than once.”

He chuckled. That was Chanhee for you. He glanced at Daniel and saw him smile also, but the guilt still lingered in his eyes. Minsoo sighed.

“Listen, when all this is over, I’m bringing you to my mountain.”

“What?”

“I’m moving to a mountain after this.” Minsoo grinned. “And I’m taking all of you with me, I don’t care what you say. Jonghyun can chop wood for the fire, Changhyun can help make the place tidy, Chanhee can cook, you can write that book you college types always want to write, Byunghun and I can sleep all day. That’s the life.”

Daniel smiled. “That sounds nice,” he said. “And also unfair. Who says you two get to sleep without helping out?”

“It’s my house, isn’t it?”

“I’ll look forward to it, sir.”

“Told you to cut that out.” Minsoo grunted. “First rule for anyone who wants to live on my mountain: call me by my name. None of that ‘Sarge’ or ‘sir’ shit.”

Daniel looked into Minsoo’s eyes. “I’m really very sorry for what happened,” he whispered.

Minsoo shook his head. “It’s nothing. I’d do it again for any of you if I could. If it means we all get to go home together, I’d step on all of the damn mines in this country.”

“You have to let some of us try and save your life too, you know. Makes us all look incompetent, what with you getting to do all of the heroics.”

“Ha!” Minsoo punched Daniel’s knee lightly. “I’ll count on it. Just make sure not to space out like that again.” He paused and swallowed a breath before continuing. “Listen. It hurts, but I’m okay. The pain’s always going to be there, but it’s better than being dead. We’ll always hurt, Daniel, but that’s how you know you’re really alive. Which is why you have to quit keeping it all inside from now on. You’re with your brothers now. We take care of each other here.”

Daniel’s eyes began to water, but he quickly rubbed them to hide the tears. Minsoo grinned fondly at him and patted his knee again. “Go get some sleep. We’ll be fine in the morning.”

Still unable to speak, Daniel nodded, but made no move to do as he was told. Neither did Minsoo.

So, the pair stayed up and spent the rest of the night talking about important and unimportant things until morning. By the time Minsoo felt himself beginning to doze off, sunlight was starting to trickle in through the door.

A new day was about to begin.

* * *

He awoke many hours later, in the late afternoon of the fourth day, and to his irritation, it was to the sound of all his members talking all at once in excited and loud tones. He grabbed the nearest item he could reach – his boot – and threw it towards the noise’s general direction. An offended squawk that sounded like Changhyun’s answered Minsoo’s sleep-deprived tantrum.

“Shut up,” he muttered.

“He hath arisen!” someone declared triumphantly.

“Shut up, Chanhee,” Minsoo drawled. Then, upon realizing who he’d just addressed, woke up instantly and bolted from his position to sit up. His stomach flared again and reminded him of his current predicament.

Minsoo dropped back down on his back and groaned loudly.

“Ah, I told you not to do that!” Changhyun scolded and made his way to his fallen sergeant.

After the pain had subsided, Minsoo looked up to find a beaming Chanhee looking down at him.

“Hey there, asshole,” Chanhee greeted cheerfully.

“Idiot,” came the reply. “What took you so long?”

Chanhee shrugged. “Oh, you know, the usual. Jonghyun took his time coming back here, I’ll tell you that. No concern at all for his fallen commander, tsk.”

“Only because you made me carry all the supplies on the way back,” came the indignant response.

“And who did all the hard work of keeping quiet and scoping out the area, huh?” 

Jonghyun shook his head. “He didn’t have to do any of that.” He turned to Byunghun and Daniel, both of whom were eagerly eating the chicken he’d brought home. “Turns out all the camps surrounding here are ours. We’ve won most of the fights here and the possibility of running into any danger was nil.”

“Which means your recon mission was useless,” Minsoo said.

“Hey, show some appreciation.” Chanhee flicked his forehead. “Daddy Chanhee comes home bearing gifts and you spit all over his sacrifice. Some friend you are.”

“Daddy Jonghyun helped too, you credit-grabber.”

“Look at Byunghunnie, he hasn’t been able to stop smiling ever since I got here,” Chanhee gloated. The sniper’s face suddenly fell into a frown and he chucked a chicken bone towards the back of Chanhee’s head.

“You’re a regular Messiah,” Minsoo said, then looked over at Jonghyun. “No enemies around, you say?”

He nodded. “Takes two days to get to the nearest friendly camp if you’re not in a hurry.”

“Then we can move there first thing tomorrow,” Minsoo said. He caught Changhyun’s protesting look and shook his head, pointing a finger at Chanhee. “He’s carried my ass for four years now, I’m sure a few more days won’t make a difference.”

Chanhee snorted. “And a heavy ass it is, too. I could overtake Jonghyun here and become strongest guy in this squad if you let me do that for a few more weeks.”

Before Minsoo could properly retort at his laughing friend, he felt a hesitant shake on his arm and looked up at Daniel.

“Saved you some chicken,” he said. “They really did bring back a lot of the good stuff.”

“Jonghyunnie even got me some fresh plasma too!” Changhyun said, a relieved smile taking over his face. Jonghyun threw their medic a light salute in reply.

“Wouldn’t put it past them,” Minsoo said. “Only thing they’re good at is taking things.”

“Hey!” Chanhee swiped a piece of chicken from Minsoo’s plate in revenge.

Minsoo turned back to Daniel. “Save it for dinner. Think I’m going to nap a while.”

“Useless!” Chanhee shrieked. “Always on your ass and sleeping our missions away! What kind of a leader are you!” He huffed and dragged Changhyun with him to bother Byunghun again, but not before leaving his canteen with Minsoo. 

Daniel and Minsoo looked at each other and shared a laugh, the former setting his plate down and lying down to relax beside the latter. The sergeant closed his eyes and made sure to tuck the sound of his squad’s carefree laughter deep into his mind, so he would always remember this moment.

Minsoo starts dreaming of the mountain again.

* * *

 _"For he today that sheds his blood with me_  
_Shall be my brother."_

**Author's Note:**

> Title and quotes taken from Shakespeare's Henry V.


End file.
